Latest Agencies Headlines
All the headlines from our Agencies Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Australian Insurance Broker Network Plans Nation’s Biggest IPO Since 2010
Jul 1 2013 // Steadfast Group Ltd., Australia’s largest network of insurance brokers, plans to raise as much as A$562.8 million ($515 million) in the country’s biggest initial public offering since 2010. The Sydney-based...
Survey Explores How Carriers Support Agency Growth Strategies
Jul 1 2013 // Carriers can be instrumental in helping agencies grow through referrals, expanded coverages, and clear business line or geographic expansion planning. And despite the challenges facing the industry and the broader economy,...
Effort versus Success
Jul 1 2013 // I wrote two columns in the summer of 2012 that elicited more online comments and emails than any article, out of the hundreds, that I’ve written. One column’s subject was that producers are paid to produce. If...
Across the Pond: Managing General Agents in the UK
Jul 1 2013 // The past two years have seen interesting developments unfold on both sides of the Atlantic with regard to managing general agents and their representation, albeit electing to move in slightly different directions. In May,...
Former North Dakota Insurance Agent Gets 10 Years for Theft
Jun 28 2013 // A former Dickinson, N.D., insurance agent convicted of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from a client has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. A jury in April found Scott Biggs guilty of five counts of felony theft...
Ames & Gough Names Senior Broker in Virginia Office
Jun 27 2013 // Ames & Gough, an insurance broker and risk management consultant serving design professionals, law firms, associations/non-profits and other professional service firms, appointed Allison Barefoot as assistant vice...
Ex-Kansas Insurance Agent Accused of Stealing $2M
Jun 27 2013 // Federal prosecutors have charged a former Kansas insurance agent with stealing nearly $2 million from policyholders. The U.S. attorney’s office says a 51-count indictment unsealed June 25 alleges 41-year-old Jason...
How Should Insurance Agencies use Twitter?
Jun 26 2013 // This post is part of a series on insurance marketing and training sponsored by Astonish. Twitter is a social media platform that all insurance agencies should be using in this day and age. Why? Because it is free to use,...
Safeco Begins Selling Personal Lines Insurance Products in Massachusetts
Jun 26 2013 // Safeco Insurance, a Liberty Mutual Insurance company, announced this week it began selling its personal lines insurance products in Massachusetts this month. This is the first time Safeco Insurance products are available...
Social Media Is Here to Stay, Texas P/C Professionals Say
Jun 26 2013 // The value of social media as a tool for marketing and selling property/casualty insurance may be a matter of debate but one thing is for certain: While the nature of social media may be evolving, it’s not going...
EPLI in Southern California Playing ‘Hard’ to Get
Jun 25 2013 // Employment practices in California is a known and growing concern for insurers, agents and employers, and that concern has some carriers ramping up rates dramatically or quietly pulling back from the area, say those...
Insurance Agencies CAN Take Advantage of Image-based Social Media!
Jun 25 2013 // This post is part of a series on insurance marketing and training sponsored by Astonish. We’ve been hearing it for a long time now – insurance agencies need to adapt to the modern consumer in order to survive. This...
Relationships, Expertise Drive Success in Texas E&S Marketplace
Jun 21 2013 // During the past 20 to 30 years typical business dealings between wholesale insurance brokers and retail agents have evolved from being purely transactional experiences to those that are highly dependent upon relationships...
Positioning with Companies as the Market Changes
Jun 21 2013 // A huge amount of press has been devoted to how important price is to insurance buyers — and it clearly is. But this is not specific to insurance. Price is a key factor in almost all buying decisions, excluding medical...
Market Forces, Technology Transforming P/C Agents’ Role: McKinsey
Jun 19 2013 // A report this month from consulting firm McKinsey & Company says market forces and technology are changing the role of the agent in the property/casualty insurance distribution. The report, titled “Agents of the...
Combined Agents of America Elects New 2013 Leadership
Jun 19 2013 // Combined Agents of America LLC (CAA), based in Austin, Texas, has elected an new management committee for 2013-14, led by Chairman Bill Kliewer. CAA member agencies are located in Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma. Each CAA...
Why Restaurant Franchises Make Good Program Business
Jun 19 2013 // One industry segment ideal for the program market and somewhat immune to the effects of a battered economy is the fast-food, multi-unit restaurant franchise industry, the experts say. The larger a company grows, the slower...
Brown & Brown Expands ECC Brand, Names Division CEO
Jun 18 2013 // Florida-based national insurance agency Brown & Brown Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, ECC Insurance Brokers Inc., announced that its excess-and-surplus lines professional liability products will now be marketed...
Insurance Journal Co-Sponsors MarshBerry Market & Financial Survey
Jun 18 2013 // MarshBerry, in partnership with Insurance Journal, has launched its 28th Annual Market & Financial Outlook Survey. This exclusive survey compiles anonymous general agency information along with financial, market,...
